Archive for March, 2010

Boom! Studios, a steadily growing comics publisher that really gained a head of steam when it named influential comics writer Mark Waid as its editor-in-chief a while back, announced Tuesday it had struck a deal with Pow! Entertainment (Stan Lee’s latest media venture) to produce three new super-hero titles. The announcement comes on the heels of a semi-mysterious ad campaign in February that boldly but vaguely exclaimed that “Stan’s Back!” with simple, minimalist ads online and in print. Since the ads incorporated part of Stan Lee’s recognizable autograph, it was clear he was involved somehow. To what extent wasn’t clear.

Even with that little bit of information, I have to admit I wasn’t all that interested. I truly appreciate all that Stan Lee did for the art and business of comics. He and his artistic collaborators transformed the super-hero genre and the reach of the medium in the 1960s to such a vast extent that it can never really be measured. That being said, I have no interest in reading new comics penned by Stan Lee. The bombastic style that made him such a dominant personality decades ago just isn’t as effective today. Furthermore, we’ve seen Lee’s newer ideas in recent years. It’s not like he’s been sitting by idly since going into semi-retirement years ago. There was DC’s Just Imagine… line of expensive but clunky comics a few years ago, and who can forget his collaboration with Pamela Anderson in the realm of animation, Stripperella. Read the rest of this entry »